The boys’ dad died just months after they tragically found their mum dead at home (Picture: Liverpool Echo)
A community has rallied round in support of two young boys who have tragically been left without both of their parents.
Brothers Robbie Clinton, 12, and Logan, 13, have been left devastated after the loss of their mum Shelley earlier this year, and their dad Mike less than a month ago.
Mike’s older sister, Liz Carney, said her brother died just one day before his and Shelley’s wedding anniversary, and three years after losing his own parents.
‘The boys had just come back from a sleepover and noticed he wasn’t up yet, so they went upstairs and found him in bed. They couldn’t wake him up,’ she said.
‘I got a call from Caitlin [niece] and she told me Mike had died, I didn’t know what to say. I thought she was calling with arrangements about their wedding anniversary and doing something for him.
‘I was speaking to Mike the night before, he was telling me he was playing football with the other dads and he had a bit of a bang, but he really felt it.
‘I persuaded him to go to the doctors but he promised me he was fine and he just needed to go for a check up and ECG.’
Logan, left, and Robbie, right, have been left orphans (Picture: Liverpool Echo)
Mike was described as a ‘proper family man’ and ‘full of life’ (Picture: Liverpool Echo)
The family is still awaiting their causes of death to be confirmed.
The boys had gone home with their dad on March 24 this year to find Shelley, 51, dead at the house.
After her sudden and unexpected death they spent the following months working through their grief alongside Shelley’s older son, Jack.
But tragedy struck again on July 27 when the boys returned from a sleepover to find their dad had not got up.
They found Mike, 41, still in bed and they ‘couldn’t wake him up’.
Liz said: ‘I know everyone says it but he was really full of life, he was a good friend and people thought the world of him. People respected him and he was really loved, everyone up there [in Darlington] called him Uncle Mike.
‘He became a fully qualified driving instructor and his client list was amazing. He taught his nieces to drive and adored his boys as he was a proper family man, he was very protective of his family.
Logan and Robbie pictured with their cousin Caitlin at a charity football match in memory of their dad (Picture: Liverpool Echo)
‘We had plans for the boys to come back down here and we were going to take them on a tour of Anfield because he and the boys were big LFC fans. We had so any plans.’
A huge Liverpool FC fan, Mike was born in Walton and later moved to Runcorn with his family, in Merseyside.
After meeting his wife he moved to Darlington, in County Durham where he became a driving instructor.
Robbie and Logan’s cousin Caitlin, 19, is now looking after the two brothers.
Liz said: ‘We’re so proud of her, one of the first things she said is that she was going to look after those boys. She was the same with Mike after Shelley died and was always making sure he was okay.
‘She was really close with them both and saw Mike as her second dad and Shelley as her second mum.’
Hurworth Albion Football Club has since launched a GoFundMe page to help support the boys, and had raised almost £25,000 by the time this story was published.
Liz added: ‘It’s really overwhelming to see the names of so many people we know, and hundreds more that we don’t.’
Mike’s funeral will take place on Friday, September 8 at 2pm, at Darlington Crematorium on Carmel Road.
People are asked to wear something red or a Liverpool top for the service.
The boys’ dad died just months after they tragically found their mum dead at home (Picture: Liverpool Echo)
A community has rallied round in support of two young boys who have tragically been left without both of their parents.
Brothers Robbie Clinton, 12, and Logan, 13, have been left devastated after the loss of their mum Shelley earlier this year, and their dad Mike less than a month ago.
Mike’s older sister, Liz Carney, said her brother died just one day before his and Shelley’s wedding anniversary, and three years after losing his own parents.
‘The boys had just come back from a sleepover and noticed he wasn’t up yet, so they went upstairs and found him in bed. They couldn’t wake him up,’ she said.
‘I got a call from Caitlin [niece] and she told me Mike had died, I didn’t know what to say. I thought she was calling with arrangements about their wedding anniversary and doing something for him.
‘I was speaking to Mike the night before, he was telling me he was playing football with the other dads and he had a bit of a bang, but he really felt it.
‘I persuaded him to go to the doctors but he promised me he was fine and he just needed to go for a check up and ECG.’
Logan, left, and Robbie, right, have been left orphans (Picture: Liverpool Echo)
Mike was described as a ‘proper family man’ and ‘full of life’ (Picture: Liverpool Echo)
The family is still awaiting their causes of death to be confirmed.
The boys had gone home with their dad on March 24 this year to find Shelley, 51, dead at the house.
After her sudden and unexpected death they spent the following months working through their grief alongside Shelley’s older son, Jack.
But tragedy struck again on July 27 when the boys returned from a sleepover to find their dad had not got up.
They found Mike, 41, still in bed and they ‘couldn’t wake him up’.
Liz said: ‘I know everyone says it but he was really full of life, he was a good friend and people thought the world of him. People respected him and he was really loved, everyone up there [in Darlington] called him Uncle Mike.
‘He became a fully qualified driving instructor and his client list was amazing. He taught his nieces to drive and adored his boys as he was a proper family man, he was very protective of his family.
Logan and Robbie pictured with their cousin Caitlin at a charity football match in memory of their dad (Picture: Liverpool Echo)
‘We had plans for the boys to come back down here and we were going to take them on a tour of Anfield because he and the boys were big LFC fans. We had so any plans.’
A huge Liverpool FC fan, Mike was born in Walton and later moved to Runcorn with his family, in Merseyside.
After meeting his wife he moved to Darlington, in County Durham where he became a driving instructor.
Robbie and Logan’s cousin Caitlin, 19, is now looking after the two brothers.
Liz said: ‘We’re so proud of her, one of the first things she said is that she was going to look after those boys. She was the same with Mike after Shelley died and was always making sure he was okay.
‘She was really close with them both and saw Mike as her second dad and Shelley as her second mum.’
Hurworth Albion Football Club has since launched a GoFundMe page to help support the boys, and had raised almost £25,000 by the time this story was published.
Liz added: ‘It’s really overwhelming to see the names of so many people we know, and hundreds more that we don’t.’
Mike’s funeral will take place on Friday, September 8 at 2pm, at Darlington Crematorium on Carmel Road.
People are asked to wear something red or a Liverpool top for the service.
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